Collaborative Engineering Research Articles

Collaborative technology in a hybrid learning context: exploring feeling at ease and perceived learning among college students

PurposeThis study explores collaborative technology's effectiveness in facilitating learning in a hybrid (synchronous face-to-face and asynchronous virtual) context. In particular, the study explores the critical role of students' feeling-at-ease, including its drivers and impact on their perception of the technology.Design/methodology/approachThe study included a classroom intervention in which a collaborative technology, i.e. VoiceThread, was implemented in a hybrid learning context. Online surveys, which included quantitative and qualitative components, were administered at the start and end of the semester to capture student perceptions and experiences with the technology.FindingsStudents who felt more at ease assessed the collaborative technology more positively. While extraversion was marginally associated with initial feeling at ease, technology anxiety was not. When using the technology to post content, students who felt more at ease preferred using audio or video over text. Students' perception of the importance of technology in facilitating their learning was a key mediator in the relationship between feeling less at ease and future intention to use the collaborative technology.Originality/valueThe paper investigates the implementation of a collaborative technology in a hybrid learning context, highlighting the critical role of feeling at ease in impacting its acceptance.

Development of a Shipping Higher Education Curriculum that is Responsive to the Challenges of Industry 4.0

The rapid development of technology and the emergence of Industry 4.0 have brought new challenges to the field of shipping studies. To prepare students for this challenge, it is necessary to develop a curriculum that is responsive to the changing needs of the industry. This study aims to explore the development of a higher education curriculum for maritime studies at the Vocational Shipping Studies Faculty at Hang Tuah University that is responsive to the challenges of Industry 4.0. This study uses a qualitative research design, using a review of relevant literature and documents. The objective of research is the higher education curriculum for maritime studies at the Faculty of Vocational Sailing Studies at Hang Tuah University. Data obtained through review of relevant documents from experts. The findings show that responsive curriculum development requires a thorough understanding of industry needs and expectations, as well as a commitment to continuously improve and adapt. Based on these findings, this research proposes a framework for the development of a responsive higher education curriculum for maritime studies that incorporates elements such as industry collaboration, competency-based learning, and integration of technology and digital skills. This research has important implications for institutions seeking to develop curricula that are responsive to changing industry needs, and can contribute to the development of a skilled and competent workforce in the field of shipping studies

Resource configurations among digital academic spin-offs: finding the technology-market fit

PurposeManaging resources is crucial for firms to gain competitive advantages and succeed, particularly for startups with limited resources. It is important to understand how digital startups in general and digital academic spin-offs (ASOs) in particular may orchestrate their resources to optimize value. This paper integrates the resource-based perspective with digital entrepreneurship to analyze the resource configurations leading to success of digital ASOs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an inductive approach and applies qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on a longitudinal dataset of digital ASOs to identify the resource configurations for a successful outcome.FindingsThe authors' paper identifies two main paths to success among digital ASOs, consisting of five distinct resource configurations. The first path is termed “market exploiters” that operate in favorable market conditions where specific technological resources and research collaboration resources are lacking. The second path involves “technology explorers” that combines both technological and commercial resources to achieve success.Research limitations/implicationsBy outlining distinct pathways to the success of digital ASOs, this paper contributes to the digital academic entrepreneurship literature and the resource-based view of entrepreneurial firms. The paper also suggests implications for policymakers and managers in managing resources for the success of digital ventures.Originality/valueBy exploring the resource configurations leading to the success of ASOs commercializing digital technologies, the paper shows that favorable market conditions and complementary resource configurations can be alternative pathways to success.

The role of interorganizational collaboration and digital technologies in the implementation of circular economy practices—Empirical evidence from manufacturing firms

AbstractInterorganizational collaboration and the use of new digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, internet of things (IoT), or blockchain technology, are regarded as key enablers in implementing sustainability and circular economy‐oriented practices. While this is reflected in a few conceptual and case studies, statistical analyses on the topic are rare. No study so far has focused on collaboration, and digital technologies have only been studied in isolation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of interorganizational collaboration practices on a firm's circular economy practices and on outcomes (sustainability performance and economic performance), as well as the potentially facilitative role of new digital technologies on both. The research is based on a deductive approach, using a random sample of 112 Austrian manufacturing companies. The study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM), features a multiple‐respondent design, and uses the dynamic capabilities view as a theoretical foundation. The study finds that interorganizational collaboration practices have a strong positive effect on the implementation of sustainability and CE practices, while the use of new digital technologies and general dynamic capabilities do not. The use of digital technologies positively affects only interorganizational collaboration, while general dynamic capabilities serve as an antecedent for both the use of digital technologies and interorganizational collaboration. Regarding the outcomes of CE implementation, the study finds a positive impact on firm‐level sustainability and economic performance. From a theoretical point of view, the study provides a new perspective on the prerequisites for successful CE implementation, highlights the importance of collaboration, and contextualizes the role of new digital technologies and dynamic capabilities. From a practical point of view, based on the positive outcomes found, the study supports arguments in favor of company engagement in CE activity. It also serves to motivate purposive digitization and systems thinking in order to create efficient CE collaboration networks.

Collaborative technologies and project performance in manufacturing in the industry 4.0 environment: Mediating effect of individual, organizational, sociotechnical factors

AbstractThe use of collaborative technologies (CT) in the industry 4.0 environment has become ubiquitous. While industry practitioners acknowledge the positive influence of CT on operations and projects of their organizations, yet there seem to be insufficient scholarly insights into the link between CT and project performance (PP). Hence, this study deploys the resource dependence theory to posit the influence of CT on PP, along with mediating roles of the individual factors (IF), organizational factors (OF), and sociotechnical factors (STF) in the above relationship. A set of hypotheses is developed and tested through cross‐sectional survey data collected from 392 employees in managerial and supervisory roles, in manufacturing organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The analysis conducted through structural equation modeling using SmartPLS indicates that CT positively influences PP. Moreover, the study found that IF, OF, and STF are all significant mediators in the relationships between CT and perceived project performance (PPP). This study contributes to the extant literature and industry practice by providing, nuanced insights into the role of pertinent mediators in the link between CT and PP.

Analysis of Heavy Metal Impacts on Cereal Crop Growth and Development in Contaminated Soils

The impact of heavy metal presence in soil on cereal crops is a growing concern, posing significant challenges to global food security and environmental sustainability. Cereal crops, vital sources of nutrition, face the risk of contamination with toxic heavy metals released into the environment through human activities. This paper explores key aspects requiring thorough investigation to foster innovation and understand intricate interactions between heavy metals and cereals. Visible symptoms and physiological changes resulting from heavy metal contamination, such as chlorosis and stunted growth, demand further research to devise targeted mitigation strategies and sustainable agricultural practices. Root barrier formation, mycorrhizal symbiosis, and metal-binding proteins emerge as critical defence mechanisms for combating heavy metal stress, offering opportunities for developing metal-tolerant cereal varieties. Research on metal bioavailability and food safety implications in cereal grains is vital to safeguard human health. This paper reveals that multidisciplinary collaboration and cutting-edge technologies are essential for promoting innovation beyond the state of the art in elucidating and mitigating the impacts of heavy metals on cereal crops. Genetic and breeding approaches show promise in developing metal-tolerant cereal varieties, while agronomic practices and soil amendments can reduce metal bioavailability and toxicity. Unravelling the complex mechanisms underlying heavy metal uptake and tolerance is essential for sustainable cereal agriculture and worldwide food sustainability. Embracing the challenges of heavy metal pollution through proactive research and collaboration can secure a resilient future for cereal crops amid evolving environmental conditions.

Tree Architecture & Blockchain Integration: An off-the-shelf Experimental Approach

Temporally sensitive tree modeling and urban park spatially explicit simulation offer advantages to large-scale landscape planning and design, especially in the context of smart applications for virtual parks and forests, while Blockchain technology provides collaborative engineering, data integrity, and information confidence. A proof-of-concept 2.5D tree architecture and Blockchain integration technique (distributed Internet-of-Trees images, “IoTr-images”) was presented as a low-cost metaverse case study that affects the forest monitoring and digital landscape architecture design infrastructures. At the core of the proposed feature-based parametric modeling methodology is a 2.5D tree CAD model composed of two perpendicular 2D tree frames on which recorded tree texture has been assigned. A “Batch command-line programming” technique has been implemented, as a user-defined routine at the top of a commercial CAD platform, to describe the proposed off-the-self method and to create tangible tree-image NFT tokens (Internet-of-Trees-images Blockchain). As important findings were recorded, the add-in planning intelligence, the superior data integrity, and confidence, the offline relaxed error-free CAD design, and the superiority in terms of time and cost compared to traditional 3D tree modeling methods (laser scanning, close-range photogrammetry, etc.); as well as the satisfactory tree modeling accuracy for smart forest monitoring and landscape architecture applications. The proposed 2.5D parametric tree model added new value to the CAD-Blockchain integration industry because a plain “Blockchain/Merkle hash tree” tracks tree geometry growth and texture change temporarily with simple parametric transactions (i.e. controlled hash tree magnification/scaling). So, metaverse functionality (decentralized, autonomous, coordinated, and parallel design; same-data sharing; data validation), modification and redesign ability, and planning intelligence are effectively supported by the proposed technique. Main contributions are regarded as the ability for smart forest distributed surveillance and collaborative parallel landscape architecture design, open-source Web-based educational simulations, as well as the potential for off-the-shelf contractual collaborative frameworks (smart contracts between designers and clients). Stratification based on forest types improved above-ground biomass (AGB) estimation, especially when AGB was greater than 500 Mg/ha, using the proposed “IoTr-images” technique. So, this research provides new insight into AGB modeling and monitoring. Finally, the proposed method’s robustness has been validated by performance evaluation testing.

Prediction Parameters for Mining Subsidence Based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Collaborative Monitoring

Coal mining induces surface subsidence, making rapid and precise monitoring of this subsidence a key area of current research. To address the limitations of D-InSAR technology in capturing large-gradient deformations in the central subsidence basin and the challenges facing UAVs in accurately monitoring small deformations at the basin’s edge, we propose a method for inverting the expected parameters of surface subsidence by synergistically integrating InSAR and UAV monitoring. We determined the cumulative subsidence of monitoring points along the dip and strike observation line of the Banji 110,801 working face between 10 April 2021 and 28 June 2022, employing D-InSAR and UAV techniques. By leveraging the complementary strengths of both monitoring techniques, we fused the two types of monitoring data and verified the error of the fusion data to be within 10 cm through leveling data verification. Simulation experiments utilizing the probability integration method and the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS) optimization algorithm confirmed that the 10 cm data source error remains within the required limits for probability integration parameter inversion. Finally, the BFGS algorithm was employed to invert the parameters of the probability integration method based on the fusion data results. Subsequently, these inversion parameters were used to predict the subsidence at the monitoring point and were compared with the level measured data. The results demonstrate that the use of collaborative InSAR and UAV monitoring technology for inverting the expected parameters of surface subsidence in the mining area yields superior results, aligning with the actual patterns of ground surface movement and deformation. This study addresses the global need for unmanned monitoring of mining-related subsidence. It employs InSAR and UAV technologies in a synergistic approach to monitor surface subsidence in mining regions. This approach harnesses the strengths of multiple data sources and presents a novel concept for the unmanned monitoring of surface subsidence in mining areas, contributing to environmental protection efforts.

Collaborative Effect of In-Plasma Catalysis with Sequential Na2SO3 Wet Scrubbing on Co-Elimination of NOx and VOCs from Simulated Sinter Flue Gas

Sinter flue gas produced by the iron-ore sinter process in steel plants is characterized by a large gas volume and complex components. Among the major air pollutants, preliminary emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) exhibit an inevitable contribution to secondary aerosol and ozone formation. Herein, oxidation–absorption collaborative technology for in-plasma catalysis with sequential Na2SO3 wet scrubbing, aiming at co-elimination of NOx and VOCs from sinter flue gas, is proposed. Experimental parameters, including plasma discharge status, NO initial concentration, gas feed flux, Na2SO3 concentration, pH value, and absorption ions, were systematically investigated. The VOC and NOx removal performance of the integrated system was further investigated by taking simulated sinter flue gas as model pollutants. The results showed that the collaborative system has satisfactory performance for TVOC and NO removal rates for the effective oxidation of in-plasma catalysis and Na2SO3 absorption. The integration of plasma catalysis with Na2SO3 scrubbing could be an alternative technology for the co-elimination of sinter flue gas multi-compounds.

Innovation, Appropriate Technologies and Entrepreneurship for Global Sustainability Development: A Review Until the Early Twenty-first Century

Appropriate technology and development have been disseminated globally as a concept and practice under various terminologies such as adaptive technology, accessible and cheap technology, community technology, low-cost technology, intermediary technology, and so on, especially for grassroots community development. Originating from Gandhi’s anti-colonial campaigns and further expanded by Schumacher’s ideas, the concept gained momentum with the rise of emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa. These countries embraced appropriate technology, offering affordable, user-friendly solutions that matched local needs and resources, contrasting with capital-intensive methods. The digital revolution in the twenty-first century further diversified appropriate technology, permitting the widespread adoption of affordable and sustainable solutions across sectors and nations. This study also explores how emerging economies transitioned from being viewed as low-tech suppliers to becoming innovators in high-tech spheres. These emerging economies have developed localised research and development centres, embraced open science and technology collaboration and engaged in reverse technology entrepreneurship by adapting and exporting technology-driven products to developing and developed countries. Furthermore, frugal innovation arises as a response to pressing sustainability challenges. It encourages simple, environmentally friendly designs that promote longevity and efficient resource practice. From its very beginnings and even more today, innovation in appropriate/frugal technologies has continued to make clear contributions to various forms of entrepreneurship for sustainable development. The study concludes that proper technology and frugal innovation are becoming global norms, endorsed by G7, G20 and United Nations member states, as they address economic and sustainable development goals, ultimately benefitting a broader spectrum of societies globally.

Evolutionary game analysis of inter-organizational trust and technology sharing behavior in enterprise collaborative innovation

In the era of the knowledge economy, how integrating into the network of collaborative innovation and promoting technology sharing has become the key to enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises. It is well known that inter-organizational trust is essential to technology sharing. Firstly, this paper discussed how inter-organizational trust plays a role in technology-sharing behavior. Secondly, based on “organization is bounded rational”, we established an evolutionary game model to analyze the influencing factors of technology sharing. Finally, we used the numerical simulation method to verify the model. Research shows that affective trust facilitates technology acquisition and cognitive trust facilitates technology sharing. The synergetic benefit distribution coefficient influences the evolutionary equilibrium strategy of technology sharing, and there is an optimal synergistic benefit distribution coefficient that maximizes the willingness of both enterprises to share technology. Technology transfer cost and technology leakage risk negatively affect technology-sharing behavior. The degree of technology complementarity, trust coefficient, incentive coefficient, and the ability of shared technologies to transform into synergistic benefits positively influence technology-sharing behavior. The research provides a new way to solve the practical problem of collaborative innovation technology sharing among enterprises.

Graph Reinforcement Learning-Based Decision-Making Technology for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Framework, Review, and Future Trends.

The proper functioning of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) is crucial for the safety and efficiency of future intelligent transport systems. Meanwhile, transitioning to fully autonomous driving requires a long period of mixed autonomy traffic, including both CAVs and human-driven vehicles. Thus, collaborative decision-making technology for CAVs is essential to generate appropriate driving behaviors to enhance the safety and efficiency of mixed autonomy traffic. In recent years, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) methods have become an efficient way in solving decision-making problems. However, with the development of computing technology, graph reinforcement learning (GRL) methods have gradually demonstrated the large potential to further improve the decision-making performance of CAVs, especially in the area of accurately representing the mutual effects of vehicles and modeling dynamic traffic environments. To facilitate the development of GRL-based methods for autonomous driving, this paper proposes a review of GRL-based methods for the decision-making technologies of CAVs. Firstly, a generic GRL framework is proposed in the beginning to gain an overall understanding of the decision-making technology. Then, the GRL-based decision-making technologies are reviewed from the perspective of the construction methods of mixed autonomy traffic, methods for graph representation of the driving environment, and related works about graph neural networks (GNN) and DRL in the field of decision-making for autonomous driving. Moreover, validation methods are summarized to provide an efficient way to verify the performance of decision-making methods. Finally, challenges and future research directions of GRL-based decision-making methods are summarized.

Teams in the Digital Workplace: Technology’s Role for Communication, Collaboration, and Performance

This paper addresses the need for theoretical advancements in understanding team processes and the impact of technology on teams. Specifically, it examines the use of digital collaboration technologies by organizational teams and their effect on team communication and collaboration. Using the concept of affordances as a theoretical lens, the paper explores the potential relationships between technology affordances and essential team processes. It also provides an agenda for future research on social technologies and teams as well as novel methodological approaches for better understanding the ways in which digital technologies are affecting team processes and performance in the workplace.

Exploration of the innovative development path of university civic education based on data mining algorithm

Abstract Addressing the issues of a single form, insufficient targeting, a lack of synergy, and the inability to create a customized collaborative education process in the current college Civic Education curriculum setting, This paper develops a recommendation system for a college Civic Education curriculum based on enhanced collaborative filtering technology. It adopts an enhanced algorithm of cooperative filtering based on the combination, and by having to introduce a gradual forgetting curve relying on the time-sensitive change of user interest, it more effectively resolves. The standard algorithm is outdated, inefficient, and not very adaptable. A similar classification method for college Civics courses is then constructed after data mining is performed to filter out the data noise present in the data set. Via empirical validation, it is discovered that the optimization method obtains an average accuracy of 78.83% when the amount of cycles is 40. When the number of cycles is 40, the recall rate of the optimized algorithm is the highest, and the recall rate is 78%. In terms of recommendation popularity comparison, the optimization algorithm popularity starts to be higher than the traditional algorithm when the number of cycles exceeds 80. Therefore, the system has excellent practicality and resilience, and it operates steadily, which is of positive significance for creating an atmosphere of collaborative and win-win university thinking and political education for teachers and students with various forms and individual innovation.

Artificial Intelligence for the Social Internet of Things: Analysis and Modeling Using Collaborative Technologies [Special Section Editorial

Artificial Intelligence for the Social Internet of Things: Analysis and Modeling Using Collaborative Technologies [Special Section Editorial

Collaborative Learning in Engineering Design Education: A Systematic Literature Review

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> This article presents a comprehensive overview of characteristics of educational designs of collaborative engineering design activities found in literature and how these characteristics mediate students’ collaboration. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Background:</i> Engineers have to solve complex problems that require collaboration. In education, various collaborative engineering design activities have been implemented to prepare students for these professional practices. According to cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), educational activities can be described in terms of interrelated elements, i.e., subject, object, tools, rules, division of labor, and community, that influence learning outcomes. A key issue is how these elements mediate students’ collaborative efforts and how they contribute to learning. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Research Questions:</i> 1) How is collaborative learning implemented in engineering design education? 2) How do the elements of CHAT and their interrelations mediate collaborative learning? and 3) What is the evidence that the implementation of collaborative learning contributed to the achievement of desired learning outcomes? <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Methodology:</i> A systematic literature review following preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses protocols guidelines was conducted, including 111 articles published between 2011 and 2021. CHAT was used as analytical framework. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Findings:</i> Collaborative learning was implemented in engineering design activities to develop technical as well as nontechnical skills. For the CHAT elements, it was found that establishing a common object, rules for collaboration, and division of labor are essential for effective collaboration and can be enhanced through digital technologies (tools) and support from a community, for example, educators. Finally, results showed that there is evidence that described implementations contribute to learning. However, this evidence needs to be interpreted with care, due to methodological issues in some included articles.

Greenfield FDIs as a catalyst for technological collaborations between European regions and emerging countries

ABSTRACT This research emphasizes the increasing role of emerging countries in the advancement of future technologies and investigates the extent to which greenfield foreign direct investments (FDIs) can represent a bridge capable of stimulating technological collaboration opportunities between European regions and emerging countries. Utilizing a balanced panel dataset spanning 15 years from 2003 to 2017 and covering 286 European regions, we conducted a study that integrated collaborative patent data and foreign investments with emerging countries. Our findings indicate that technological collaboration primarily depends on inward FDIs (from emerging countries to Europe) rather than outward FDIs (from Europe to emerging countries). Furthermore, we discovered that a mutually reinforcing process can significantly enhance this collaboration. In this context, such a process acts as a cornerstone for the European Union (EU), offering a potential solution to navigate the paradoxical pressure between the rise of protectionism in response to the imbalances and inequalities stemming from globalization and the need to promote an environment conducive to global openness, competition and innovation.

高校劳动教育数字化的发展途径探索

The digitization of education in China is currently centered around teaching digitization, gradually expanding to various application scenarios. The combination of theory and practice, labor ability and professional competence in labor education provides a broader space for the development of digital education. Digital platforms can provide diverse learning pathways, virtual learning communities, digital collaborative technologies, digital learning ecology, and digital education evaluation systems for labor education in universities. This article explores the development path of digitalization of labor education from these five aspects.

A Scoping Review of Collaborative Information Behavior

Many researchers have mischaracterized collaborative information behavior (CIB) with its sub-processes, including collaborative information seeking (CIS) and collaborative information retrieval (CIR). To learn about the most prominent CIB definitions, the phases involved in the CIB process, and the various collaboration tools that facilitate CIB, we sifted through a wide range of LIS research papers. Using a scoping review to correspond with the research questions, we conducted several iterations to exclude irrelevant studies while concurrently including pertinent ones. The “C5 model of collaboration” developed by Shah provides a framework for coding our data during content analysis and concept mapping. Our findings indicate that CIB has no generally adopted definition. Additionally, traditional workplace tools and technologies are the collaborative tools utilized for various collaborative activities. More CIB research is needed in the information science field to stay ahead of the rapid growth of collaborative AI technologies, particularly those that foster human-AI collaborations.

Seminar Inspiratif: Para Guru Diajak Menjadi Pendidik Hebat Di Era Revolusi Industri 4.0

The Inspirational Seminar "Becoming a Great Teacher in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0" organised by Riau University's Collaborative Community Service (KKN) team was an important step in supporting the professional development of teachers in an era influenced by technological developments. The event focused on the integration of technology in learning, innovative methods, and collaboration with local education communities. The seminar attracted more than 50 participants, including teachers from various levels of education. The speakers, including Dr Non Syafriafdi S.Pd M.Pd, provided insights and concrete solutions related to current educational challenges. The result was positive encouragement for teachers to better deal with change and improve students' learning experiences. The seminar is expected to have a lasting impact on education in the Tapung Makmur, Tanah Tinggi and Kijang Jaya areas.